Monday, July 26, 2021

2021 Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft - 12 Teams, 4th Pick

The best way to become good at something is to practice. So, what should you do if you want to draft a better fantasy football team?

Practice, of course!

Leading up to the start of the 2021 NFL season, we will use the 2021 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator (powered by FantasyPros) to complete fantasy football mock drafts.

We will use a variety of scoring formats -- PPR, half-PPR, standard scoring and even 2-QB leagues, league sizes and draft slots. The goal is to give you a good representation of the team that you may be able to construct given your league settings and the rationale of why we made the picks we did.

+ Our mocks will be tracked here: Fantasy Football Mock Drafts.

That said, nothing beats practicing yourself so (check out the simulator) and complete a mock in a matter of minutes.

PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 4th Pick

1.04 - Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

The versatile back had exactly 81 receptions in each of his first three NFL seasons and then set a career high (83) in 2020. That said, he was on pace for a much higher career-best number before Drew Brees (ribs) missed four weeks and the only games that Kamara failed to reach three catches came with Brees sidelined. Even so, Kamara was fantasy's top-scoring PPR back in 2020 and he's a top-four option for me in 2021.

2.09 - Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

One year after leading the NFL in touchdowns (19, 2019), Jones averaged a career-high 5.89 yards per touch for the league's top-scoring offense. Even though he missed two games and scored eight fewer touchdowns in 2020, he has finished as a top-five fantasy running back in consecutive seasons.

The only real concern with Jones is the status of Aaron Rodgers. If Rodgers isn't under center when the Packers open the season, Green Bay's offense will suffer overall with fewer scoring opportunities for Jones. But even if Rodgers doesn't play, I'm thrilled to land Jones here as this mock's RB13.

More: Green Bay Packers 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup

3.04 - Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

Allen missed a couple of games and was limited in others, but he finished with 100 catches for the third time in four seasons despite playing with a rookie quarterback. Although just shy of the 1,000-yard mark and averaging a career-low 9.92 Y/R, Allen tied his career high (set as a rookie in 2013) with eight touchdowns. Along with Davante Adams and Diontae Johnson, Allen was just one of three receivers to get double-digit targets in 10 games in 2020.

4.09 - D.J. Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers

Moore averaged only 6.9 targets per game through his first 10 games, but that number jumped to 9.8 over his final five games. In addition, three of his four 100-yard games occurred over that final five-game stretch. Even though his 55.9% catch rate was a career low, the 23-year-old receiver's ADOT (13.2), Y/R (18.1) and receiving yards (1,193) were all career highs.

5.04 - Kenny Golladay, WR, New York Giants

Golladay exceeded the 1,000-yard milestone in back-to-back seasons (2018 and 2019) with the Lions and led the NFL in receiving touchdowns (11) in 2019. Although 2020 was a lost season due to a hip injury, Golladay had either 100-plus yards or 50-plus yards and a score in the four games he played before sustaining the injury. Signing a four-year deal with the Giants, the QB downgrade from Matthew Stafford to Daniel Jones and a more crowded receiver room limits his ceiling a bit. That said, he's a viable WR3.

More: New York Giants 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup

6.09 - Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

It's not a surprise that Jackson's year-over-year numbers dipped following his elite 2019 MVP season. Jackson threw 10 fewer touchdowns in 2020 and threw for 208 yards or less in 12 of 15 games. Even so, his real fantasy success comes from his rushing ability and he has now rushed for 1,000-plus yards in back-to-back seasons.

Over the final five weeks of the season, Jackson averaged only 161.8 passing yards per game, but he threw 11 touchdowns and rushed for 430 yards and four more scores. During that span, he averaged a massive 27.67 fantasy points per game.

More: Baltimore Ravens 2021 NFL Power Rankings Roundup

7.04 - Chase Edmonds, RB, Arizona Cardinals

The former fourth-round pick has averaged 4.4 yards per carry and 7.2 yards per reception over his first three NFL seasons. With Kenyan Drake out and James Conner in, Edmonds should be Arizona's RB1 and has an opportunity to perform as a top-24 fantasy back in 2021.

8.09 - Trey Sermon, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Not only does Sermon have the highest draft pedigree (third round) among the team's running backs, but the Niners traded up to draft him. Given his frame, balance and vision, the team could look to make him their featured back sooner than later (as much as Kyle Shanahan will feature an individual back, that is).

9.04 - Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

In 2018, Williams had 10 touchdowns. In 2019, he led the NFL with 20.4 Y/R and posted his first (and only) 1,000-yard season. Not only were overall numbers (48/756/5) disappointing, but he had only four top-36 performances (half-PPR) out of his 15 games last season. That said, Lombardi said that he'd "bet on nice numbers coming from [Williams] on the stat sheet, that's for sure."

More: Los Angeles Chargers 2021 Fantasy Football Projections

10.09 - Noah Fant, TE, Denver Broncos

Playing at less than 100% in 2020, Fant averaged only 10.9 Y/R after averaging 14.1 in 2019. Fant's ADOT (7.6 to 6.7) and YAC/R (8.3 to 6.1) both declined year over year, but he also set career highs in receptions (62) and yards (673).

11.04 - Latavius Murray, RB, New Orleans Saints

When both Kamara and Murray are active, Murray has stand-alone flex value -- especially during bye weeks. For any weeks that Kamara may miss, Murray becomes a must-start play. In the two games that Kamara missed and Murray was active, Murray had a total of 62 touches, 307 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns.

12.09 - Jalen Reagor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Selected one pick before Justin Jefferson (88/1,400/7) in the 2020 NFL Draft, Reagor's disappointing 2020 campaign (31/391/1) becomes even more pronounced. Durability (five missed games) and sub-par quarterback play didn't help, but Reagor's breakout potential makes him a high-upside late-round pick.

13.04 - Rashaad Penny, RB, Seattle Seahawks

A surprise first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Penny has failed to live up to his draft pedigree. On relatively limited touches, however, Penny has been efficient -- 5.1 YPC and 9.3 Y/R -- and Carson's violent running style could lead to a missed game (or several).

14.09 - Colts DST, Indianapolis Colts

15.04 - Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears

Down the stretch, Kmet leapfrogged Jimmy Graham on the depth chart based on snaps played. In addition, the rookie out of Notre Dame averaged 6.0 targets per game over his five final regular-season games. There is some potential for Kmet to have a breakout sophomore campaign.

More: Chicago Bears 2021 Fantasy Football Projections

16.09 - Robbie Gould, K, San Francisco 49ers

- View Full Mock Draft Results

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